Teacher, 10-year-old student die at lake during school outing
Lake MacBride flows into Coralville Lake.
SOLON, Iowa - A fifth-grade teacher and her 10-year-old student died after responders found them in the water at Iowa’s Coralville Reservoir, authorities and school officials said.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Hannah Jorgensen, 24, of Tiffin, and Ahmed Osman, 10, of Iowa City.
Dig deeper:
Jorgensen was recovered from the reservoir around 12:43 p.m. Tuesday and pronounced dead at the scene. Search crews continued looking for Osman before suspending recovery efforts overnight. His body was recovered around 1:24 p.m. Wednesday.
What they're saying:
The Iowa City Community School District said both victims were part of the Borlaug Elementary School community. Jorgensen was a fifth-grade teacher, while Osman was a fifth-grade student.
"Our hearts are shattered by the loss of two beloved members of our Borlaug Elementary family," the district said in a statement. "There are simply no words that can adequately express the depth of this loss."
The district said Jorgensen and Osman were "deeply loved members of their families" and that their absence would be felt throughout the school community.
The backstory:
The sheriff’s office said it responded around 12:10 p.m. Tuesday to a report of people in the water near the spillway at Lake MacBride State Park.
Multiple agencies assisted with the response, including the Johnson County Metro Dive Team, local fire and police departments, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Iowa medical and air-care teams.
What's next:
The incident remains under investigation. Authorities have not released additional information.
The Source: The information came from news releases issued by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 22 and 23, 2026, which detailed the recovery efforts and identified the victims. Additional information about their connection to Borlaug Elementary School came from a public statement posted by the Iowa City Community School District on Facebook. This story was reported from Los Angeles.